Another Deadly Earthquake Rocks Balochistan

Trucks transport relief aid to Balochistan where an earthquake killed hundreds of people earlier this week.

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Another Deadly Earthquake Rocks Balochistan

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ISLAMABAD -- A new powerful earthquake in Pakistan's already devastated southwestern region of Balochistan has killed at least 10 people.

The U.S. Geological Survey said on September 28 that the 6.8-magnitude temblor had its epicenter in Balochistan Province's Awaran district at a depth of 14 km.

The same province was hit on September 24 by a 7.7-magnitude earthquake that has left more than 500 people dead.

The temblor on September 28 was also felt in Pakistan's southern seaport city of Karachi, which abuts Balochistan.

Ateequr Rehman, an office worker in Karachi, said that the midday quake was powerful.

"I was busy at my work in the office, it was about 10, 15 minutes ago when suddenly my chair started shaking," he said. "At first I thought it was a delusion or a false feeling. But all my colleagues ran out of the office. The tremors were strong."

Pakistani authorities are still struggling to bring aid to remote areas of the province hit by the quake on September 24, amid attacks by insurgents.

Awaran and the surrounding region -- comprising the districts of Kech, Khuzdar, Kharan, Gwadar, Panjgur, and Chaghi -- is the stronghold of ethnic Baluch separatists who have waged a violent insurgency against Islamabad.

Noor Bibi, an earthquake survivor in Awaran, said that the quake had destroyed their lives.

"Nothing is left, not even our shoes," he said. "We have no place to live either. The earthquake came so unexpectedly and ruined everything in just an instant. The weather is not good either. If bad weather comes, where can we get shelter? "

Balochistan's quake has left more than 100,000 people homeless and is said to have affected some 300,000 people.

Balochistan is prone to earthquakes. In April, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake, which struck across the border in Iran, killed at least 35 people in Balochistan.

A major quake in the region in 1935 killed 60,000 people.

With reporting by AFP and dpa

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